Peripheral RF Feed and Symmetric RF Return for Symmetric RF Delivery

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are presented for a peripheral RF feed and symmetric RF return for symmetric RF delivery. According to one embodiment, a chuck assembly for plasma processing is provided. The chuck assembly includes an electrostatic chuck having a substrate support surface on a first side, and a facility plate coupled to the electrostatic chuck on a second side that is opposite the substrate support surface. A hollow RF feed is configured to deliver RF power, the hollow RF feed defined by a first portion contacting a periphery of the facility plate and a second portion coupled to the first portion, the second portion extending away from the chuck assembly.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/563,503, filed Nov. 23, 2011, entitled “PERIPHERAL RF FEED ANDSYMMETRIC RF RETURN FOR SYMMETRIC RF DELIVERY,” the disclosure of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/301,725, filed Nov. 21, 2011, entitled “TRIODE REACTOR DESIGN WITHMULTIPLE RADIOFREQUENCY POWERS,” and to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/563,021, filed Nov. 22, 2011, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR CONTROLLING A PLASMA EDGE REGION,” the disclosures of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present embodiments relate to wafer processing apparatus, and moreparticularly, apparatus, methods, and computer programs for processing awafer in a wafer processing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

The manufacturing of integrated circuits includes immersing siliconsubstrates (wafers) containing regions of doped silicon inchemically-reactive plasmas, where the submicron device features (e.g.,transistors, capacitors, etc.) are etched onto the surface. Once thefirst layer is manufactured, several insulating (dielectric) layers arebuilt on top of the first layer, where holes, also referred to as vias,and trenches are etched into the material for placement of theconducting interconnectors.

Non-uniform etching can adversely impact wafer yield. Moreover, as thesize of the critical dimension shrinks with each new generation ofdevices, and as wafer sizes increase to facilitate production of highernumbers of devices from the same wafer, non-uniformity requirementsbecome ever more stringent. Thus, controlling non-uniformity is key toenabling more advanced technology nodes to be mass produced in acost-effective manner.

It is in this context that embodiments of the invention arise.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure provide apparatus, methods and computerprograms for a peripheral RF feed and symmetric RF return for symmetricRF delivery. It should be appreciated that the present embodiments canbe implemented in numerous ways, such as a process, an apparatus, asystem, a device, or a method on a computer readable medium. Severalembodiments are described below.

In one embodiment, a chuck assembly for plasma processing is provided.The chuck assembly includes an electrostatic chuck having a substratesupport surface on a first side, and a facility plate coupled to theelectrostatic chuck on a second side that is opposite the substratesupport surface. A hollow RF feed is configured to deliver RF power, thehollow RF feed defined by a first portion contacting a periphery of thefacility plate and a second portion coupled to the first portion, thesecond portion extending away from the chuck assembly.

In one embodiment, the first portion is a bowl-shaped section, thesecond portion is a tubular section, and the second portion connects tothe first portion at an opening defined in the bowl-shaped section.

In one embodiment, the hollow RF feed contains facility wires in abundled configuration in the tubular section and in an expandedconfiguration in the bowl-shaped section.

In one embodiment, a conducting component is coupled to the facilityplate and defined within an interior of the first portion of the hollowRF feed.

In one embodiment, the conducting component is one of a heating device,an electrostatic clamping device, a coolant fitting, and a pin lifter.

In one embodiment, the second portion extends laterally away from thechuck assembly.

In one embodiment, a grounded shield surrounds a location of the hollowRF feed proximate to where the first and second portions are coupled,the grounded shield defining a barrier between the first and secondportions of the hollow RF feed.

In one embodiment, an insulating tube is defined within an interior ofthe second portion.

In one embodiment, the first portion of the hollow RF feed contacts theperiphery of the facility plate at a circumference defined on a side ofthe facility plate opposite the electrostatic chuck, the circumferencehaving a radius greater than one-half of a radius of the facility plate.

In another embodiment, a method for powering a chuck assembly for plasmaprocessing is provided. The method includes method operations ofcontacting a first end of a hollow RF feed to a periphery of a facilityplate; and applying RF power to a second end of the hollow RF feedextending away from the chuck assembly, the hollow RF feed deliveringthe applied RF power to the facility plate.

In one embodiment, the applied RF power is delivered over a tubularsection of the hollow RF feed including the second end and a bowl-shapedsection of the hollow RF feed including the first end.

In one embodiment, the method includes delivering current over facilitywires in a bundled configuration in the tubular section and in anexpanded configuration in the bowl-shaped section

In one embodiment, the delivery of the RF power by the hollow RF feedbypasses a central portion of the facility plate having a conductingcomponent coupled thereto, the conducting component defined within aninterior of the hollow RF feed.

In one embodiment, the conducting component is one of a heating device,an electrostatic clamping device, a coolant fitting, and a pin lifter.

In one embodiment, applying the RF power to the second end of the hollowRF feed includes contacting the second end at a location lateral to thechuck assembly.

In one embodiment, the method further includes shielding a first portionof the hollow RF feed from a second portion of the hollow RF feed by agrounded shield, the first portion including the first end of the hollowRF feed and the second portion including the second end of the hollow RFfeed.

In one embodiment, the method further includes insulating an interiorsurface of a portion of the hollow RF feed.

In one embodiment, contacting the first end of the hollow RF feed to theperiphery of the facility plate includes contacting the periphery at acircumference defined on an underside of the facility plate, thecircumference having a radius greater than one-half of a radius of thefacility plate.

Other aspects will become apparent from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section of a plasma reactor, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section schematic of the chuck assembly 18,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates various systems connected to a chuck assembly, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section of a portion of the hollow RF feedand RF ground adapter tube, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 5 illustrates the underside of the facility plate of the chuckassembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph comparing azimuthal nonuniformity of substratesprocessed using a chuck assembly having a center RF feed versus a chuckassembly having a hollow RF feed, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIGS. 7A-F illustrate the effect of the ground shield on azimuthalnonuniformity, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a simplified schematic diagram of a computer system forimplementing embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following embodiments describe apparatus and methods for aperipheral RF feed and symmetric RF return for symmetric RF delivery. Itwill be apparent that the present embodiments may be practiced withoutsome or all of these specific details. In other instances, well knownprocess operations have not been described in detail in order not tounnecessarily obscure the present embodiments.

Exciting an electric field between two electrodes is one of the methodsto obtain RF gas discharge in an etching chamber. When an oscillatingvoltage is applied between the electrodes, the discharge obtained isreferred to as a capacitive coupled plasma (CCP) discharge.

Plasma can be created utilizing stable feedstock gases to obtain a widevariety of chemically reactive by-products created by the dissociationof the various molecules caused by electron-neutral collisions. Thechemical aspect of etching involves the reaction of the neutral gasmolecules and their dissociated by-products with the molecules of theto-be-etched surface, and producing volatile molecules, which can bepumped away. When plasma is created, the positive ions are acceleratedfrom the plasma across a space-charge sheath separating the plasma fromthe walls, to strike the wafer surface with enough energy to removematerial from the surface of the wafer.

In one embodiment, Fluorocarbon gases, such as CF₄ and C—C₄F₈, are usedin the dielectric etch process for their anisotropic and selectiveetching capabilities, but the principles described herein can be appliedto other plasma-creating gases. The Fluorocarbon gases are readilydissociated into smaller molecular and atomic radicals. These chemicallyreactive by-products etch away the dielectric material, which in oneembodiment can be SiO₂ or SiOCH for low-k devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section of a plasma reactor, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. The reactor includes a surroundingchamber 10 defined by an surrounding chamber wall 12, and a plasmaconfinement chamber 14 defined by a top electrode assembly 16 and alower chuck assembly 18. The chuck assembly 18 includes an electrostaticchuck 20 which provides a substrate support surface on its top side, andprovides for electrostatic clamping of a substrate to its substratesupport surface. A facility plate 22 is coupled to the electrostaticchuck 20 on a side opposite the substrate support surface. Variousfacility components are coupled to the facility plate 22, such ascomponents relating to heating, cooling, control of lift pins, andelectrostatic clamping.

As shown, the top electrode assembly 16 includes a showerhead 11 forfeeding process gas into the plasma confinement chamber 14. The topelectrode assembly also includes a shroud 13, which engages with thechuck assembly 18 to define the plasma confinement chamber 14.Perforations 15 are defined for gas flow exiting the plasma confinementchamber 14.

A hollow RF feed 24 is coupled to a peripheral portion of the facilityplate 22, so as to deliver RF power to the edge of the facility plate22. This configuration enables the RF current to bypass the interiorportion of the facility plate 22, so that child components coupled tothe facility plate are not in the path of RF current. In this manner, RFdelivery to a substrate situated on the chuck assembly is achieved withhigh azimuthal uniformity.

The hollow RF feed 24 includes a first portion 26A which connects to thefacility plate 22, and a second portion 26B which extends laterally awayfrom the chuck assembly 18. As shown in the illustrated embodiment, thehollow RF feed 24 joins to the periphery of the facility plate 22 at oneend, while extending away from the facility plate to a RF source at itsopposite end. The first portion 26A which connects to the facility plateis a bowl-shaped section generally having a larger diameter than thesecond portion 26B so as to accommodate facilities attached to thefacility plate 22 on its interior. The second portion 26B is a tubularsection extending away from the chuck assembly. It will be appreciatedthat in various embodiments the relative diameters of the first portion26A and the second portion 26B may vary. The second portion 26B connectsto a hole in the bowl-shaped section defined by the first portion 26A atan interface 25. Thus, various child facility components coupled to thefacility plate are contained within the interior of the first portion26A of the hollow RF feed.

Additionally, a ground shield 28 is provided as part of the chuckassembly 18. The ground shield 28 facilitates a substantially symmetricRF return current. The ground shield 28 is defined so as to surround theregion of the hollow RF feed 24 where the first portion 26A and thesecond portion 26B are connected. Thus, the ground shield 28 defines abather between the first portion 26A and the second portion 26B of thehollow RF feed 24. The ground shield 28 is connected to the chuckassembly wall 30, from which a RF ground adapter tube 32 extends toground. Together, the chuck assembly wall 30, the ground shield 28, andthe RF ground adapter tube 32 from a return path for the RF currentdelivered via the hollow RF feed tube 24. It will be noted that part ofthe second portion 26B of the hollow RF feed is defined within theinterior of the RF ground adapter tube 32. This part of the secondportion 26B of the hollow RF feed and the RF ground adapter tube 32together define a coaxial section.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross section schematic of the chuck assembly 18,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown, variouscomponents are coupled to the facility plate 22, including coolingcomponent 40, lift pin component 42, heating component 44, and clampingcomponent 46. The heating and clamping components are electricallyconductive, and therefore especially likely to interfere with symmetricRF delivery and return in conventional plasma processing systems.However, even non-electrically based components, such as liquid orgas-based cooling components and pneumatic lift pin components, canreduce symmetry of RF delivery to the substrate in conventional systems,because their coupling to the facility plate may necessitate alterationsin the surface structure of the facility plate. Furthermore, suchcomponents may actually include conductive features in addition tonon-conductive features. For example, the cooling component 40 caninclude a coolant fitting that is conductive and may interfere with RFdelivery. And the lift pin component 42 can include a pin lifter whichis conductive and may also interfere with RF delivery. However, despitethese potential sources of interference, by utilizing the hollow RF feedas disclosed herein to deliver RF power directly to the periphery of thefacility plate, improved symmetry of RF delivery is achieved because thechild components and their various features are not in the path of theRF delivery.

The first portion 26A of the hollow RF feed connects to the facilityplate 22 at a circumference 27 defined on the underside of the facilityplate 22. The circumference 27 is defined at the periphery or edge ofthe facility plate 22. The circumference 27 is concentric with thefacility plate 22. In one embodiment, the circumference 27 has a radiusthat is greater than one-half the radius of the facility plate 22 butless than the full radius of the facility plate 22.

The electrostatic chuck 20 and the facility plate 22 are separated fromthe chuck assembly wall 30 by a dielectric spacer 29. The RF path canbroadly be defined by an RF delivery path to a substrate, and an RFreturn path. The RF delivery path provides for RF delivery along thehollow RF feed 24 to the circumference 27 of the facility plate 22, andaround the edges of the facility plate 22 and electrostatic chuck 20 tothe substrate. The RF return path follows along the chuck assembly wall30 and the ground shield 28, ultimately connecting to ground via the RFground adapter tube 32.

In the illustrated embodiment, fluid tubes 41 and 43 for connecting tothe cooling component 40 and lift pin component 42, respectively, arepermitted to cross the hollow RF feed 24 because they are non-conductingand cause little interference with the symmetry of RF delivery. However,facility wires 45 and 47 for heating component 44 and clamping component46, respectively, are carried within the interior of the hollow RF feed24.

At a minimum for a system including the heating component 44 and theclamping component 46, there are two wires per component, for a total ofat least four wires. In some embodiments, there may be additionalheating component wires. For example, in one embodiment there are fourheating zones each of which is provided with a pair of wires. In such anembodiment, there are a total of ten wires which are fed through thehollow RF feed 24 to the heating component 44 and clamping component 46.

In one embodiment, an insulated tube 48 is provided within the secondportion 26B of the hollow RF feed. The insulated tube 48 is composed ofan insulating material such as Teflon®.

FIG. 3 illustrates various systems connected to a chuck assembly, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown, the coolingcomponent 40 connects to a cooling source 60, which provides liquid orgaseous fluids for cooling the electrostatic chuck 20. The liftcomponent 42 connects to a pneumatic source 62, which providescompressed gas for controlling lift pins which facilitate disengagementof a substrate from the electrostatic chuck 20.

The hollow RF feed 24 is supplied with RF power from an RF generator 64,via an RF filter 65 and RF match 66. Wires 45 provide current to heatingcomponent 44 from an AC source 68. Wires 47 provide current to clampingcomponent 46 from a high voltage DC source 70.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section of a portion of the hollow RF feedand RF ground adapter tube, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

As shown, the configuration of the portion of the hollow RF feed 24inside of the RF ground adapter tube 32 defines a coaxial segment wherethe hollow RF feed 24 acts as the inner conductor and the RF groundadapter tube 32 acts as the outer conductor, so as to promote low-losstransmission of RF power without causing interference to nearbycomponents.

Additionally, the insulated tube 48 is shown inside of the hollow RFfeed 24. According to one embodiment, the insulated tube 48 is a Teflon®tube. In the illustrated embodiment, there are four pairs of wires 45which connect to four distinct zone heating elements, and one pair ofhigh voltage wires 47 for electrostatic clamping. In one embodiment, thewires are threaded through RF feed straps.

FIG. 5 illustrates the underside of the facility plate of the chuckassembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As shown,the facility plate 22 has various facility components coupled thereto,including cooling component 40, lift component 42, heating component 44,and clamping component 46. The hollow RF feed contacts the facilityplate at the circumference 27 defined at the periphery of the undersideof the facility plate 22. As shown, the circumference 27 is concentricwith the facility plate so as to facilitate symmetric RF delivery fromthe hollow RF feed to the edge of the facility plate 22. Furthermore,the circumference encircles the positions of the various facilitycomponents on the facility plate 22, so that the facility components arenot in the RF delivery path. In one embodiment, the radius of thecircumference 27 is at least one-half the radius of the facility plate22. In another embodiment, the radius of the circumference 27 is atleast two-thirds the radius of the facility plate 22. In still otherembodiments, the circumference 27 can have any radius that defines thecircumference 27 in a peripheral vicinity of the facility plate 22.

FIG. 6 is a graph comparing azimuthal nonuniformity of substratesprocessed using a chuck assembly having a center RF feed versus a chuckassembly having a hollow RF feed, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. As can be seen, substrates processed using a chuckassembly having a hollow RF feed as described herein demonstratenoticeably lower levels of azimuthal non-uniformity. This holds trueacross of range of RF power settings, with the improvement in azimuthalnon-uniformity of the hollow RF feed over the center RF feed generallyincreasing with increasing power.

Between 300 and 800 watts, the azimuthal nonuniformity for a center RFfeed approximately doubles. By contrast, the hollow RF feed demonstratesfairly constant azimuthal non-uniformity across the same power range,with a lower level of non-uniformity overall as well. Azimuthalnonuniformity was measured by measuring etch rates of a blank wafer, andsubtracting for radial nonuniformity. Additional details regarding themeasurement of various metrics may be found with reference to U.S. Pat.No. 7,239,737, issued Jul. 3, 2007, entitled “USER INTERFACE FORQUANTIFYING WAFER NON-UNIFORMITIES AND GRAPHICALLY EXPLORESIGNIFICANCE,” the disclosure of which is herein incorporated byreference.

FIGS. 7A-F illustrate the effect of the ground shield on azimuthalnonuniformity, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Specifically, FIG. 7A illustrates a plot of etch rates at selectedpoints at various constant radii for a wafer on a chuck assemblyincluding a ground shield as described herein. FIG. 7B illustratesazimuthal average values of etch rate at each constant radius, whichoverall indicates radial non-uniformity. In other words, for eachconstant radius, the plotted value for any azimuth is the average of theoriginal etch rates at that radius. By subtracting the azimuthal averagevalues of FIG. 7B from the corresponding actual etch rate values of FIG.7A, we obtain a residual plot, shown at FIG. 7C, which indicatesresidual non-uniformity after radial non-uniformity has beensubstracted. The azimuthal non-uniformity is then calculated as the3-sigma variation of the residual plot divided by the mean etch rate. Asshown, the azimuthal non-uniformity based on the illustrated wafer plotsof FIGS. 7A-C for a system including a ground shield is 0.82%.

FIGS. 7D-F illustrate corresponding plots to those of FIGS. 7A-C,respectively, for a wafer on a chuck assembly without the ground shield.In this instance, the azimuthal non-uniformity is significantlyincreased to 3.95%. Thus it can be seen that the presence of the groundshield, which provides for improved symmetry of the RF return path,provides a significant benefit by reducing azimuthal non-uniformity.

FIG. 8 is a simplified schematic diagram of a computer system forimplementing embodiments described herein. It should be appreciated thatthe methods described herein may be performed with a digital processingsystem, such as a conventional, general-purpose computer system. Specialpurpose computers, which are designed or programmed to perform only onefunction, may be used in the alternative. The computer system includes acentral processing unit (CPU) 1004, which is coupled through bus 1010 torandom access memory (RAM) 1028, read-only memory (ROM) 1012, and massstorage device 1014. Phase control program 1008 resides in random accessmemory (RAM) 1028, but can also reside in mass storage 1014 or ROM 1012.

Mass storage device 1014 represents a persistent data storage devicesuch as a floppy disc drive or a fixed disc drive, which may be local orremote. Network interface 1030 provides connections via network 1032,allowing communications with other devices. It should be appreciatedthat CPU 1004 may be embodied in a general-purpose processor, a specialpurpose processor, or a specially programmed logic device. Input/Output(I/O) interface provides communication with different peripherals and isconnected with CPU 1004, RAM 1028, ROM 1012, and mass storage device1014, through bus 1010. Sample peripherals include display 1018,keyboard 1022, cursor control 1024, removable media device 1034, etc.

Display 1018 is configured to display the user interfaces describedherein. Keyboard 1022, cursor control 1024, removable media device 1034,and other peripherals are coupled to I/O interface 1020 in order tocommunicate information in command selections to CPU 1004. It should beappreciated that data to and from external devices may be communicatedthrough I/O interface 1020. The embodiments can also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remoteprocessing devices that are linked through a wire-based or wirelessnetwork.

Embodiments described herein may be practiced with various computersystem configurations including hand-held devices, microprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers and the like. The embodiments canalso be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through anetwork.

With the above embodiments in mind, it should be understood that theembodiments can employ various computer-implemented operations involvingdata stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiringphysical manipulation of physical quantities. Any of the operationsdescribed herein that form part of the embodiments are useful machineoperations. The embodiments also relates to a device or an apparatus forperforming these operations. The apparatus may be specially constructedfor the required purpose, such as a special purpose computer. Whendefined as a special purpose computer, the computer can also performother processing, program execution or routines that are not part of thespecial purpose, while still being capable of operating for the specialpurpose. Alternatively, the operations may be processed by a generalpurpose computer selectively activated or configured by one or morecomputer programs stored in the computer memory, cache, or obtained overa network. When data is obtained over a network the data may beprocessed by other computers on the network, e.g., a cloud of computingresources.

One or more embodiments can also be fabricated as computer readable codeon a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any datastorage device that can store data, which can be thereafter be read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include harddrives, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random-accessmemory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes and other optical andnon-optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium caninclude computer readable tangible medium distributed over anetwork-coupled computer system so that the computer readable code isstored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Although the method operations were described in a specific order, itshould be understood that other housekeeping operations may be performedin between operations, or operations may be adjusted so that they occurat slightly different times, or may be distributed in a system whichallows the occurrence of the processing operations at various intervalsassociated with the processing, as long as the processing of the overlayoperations are performed in the desired way.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent thatcertain changes and modifications can be practiced within the scope ofthe appended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the embodiments arenot to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modifiedwithin the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A chuck assembly for plasma processing, comprising: an electrostatic chuck having a substrate support surface on a first side; a facility plate coupled to the electrostatic chuck on a second side that is opposite the substrate support surface; a hollow RF feed configured to deliver RF power, the hollow RF feed defined by a first portion contacting a periphery of the facility plate and a second portion coupled to the first portion, the second portion extending away from the chuck assembly.
 2. The chuck assembly of claim 1, wherein the first portion being a bowl-shaped section; wherein the second portion being a tubular section; and wherein the second portion connects to the first portion at an opening defined in the bowl-shaped section.
 3. The chuck assembly of claim 2, wherein the hollow RF feed contains facility wires in a bundled configuration in the tubular section and in an expanded configuration in the bowl-shaped section.
 4. The chuck assembly of claim 1, further comprising a conducting component coupled to the facility plate and defined within an interior of the first portion of the hollow RF feed.
 5. The chuck assembly of claim 4, wherein the conducting component is one of a heating device, an electrostatic clamping device, a coolant fitting, or a pin lifter.
 6. The chuck assembly of claim 1, wherein the second portion extends laterally away from the chuck assembly.
 7. The chuck assembly of claim 1, further comprising a grounded shield surrounding a location of the hollow RF feed proximate to where the first and second portions are coupled, the grounded shield defining a barrier between the first and second portions of the hollow RF feed.
 8. The chuck assembly of claim 1, wherein an insulating tube is defined within an interior of the second portion.
 9. The chuck assembly of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the hollow RF feed contacts the periphery of the facility plate at a circumference defined on a side of the facility plate opposite the electrostatic chuck, the circumference having a radius greater than one-half of a radius of the facility plate.
 10. A method for powering a chuck assembly for plasma processing, comprising: contacting a first end of a hollow RF feed to a periphery of a facility plate; applying RF power to a second end of the hollow RF feed extending away from the chuck assembly, the hollow RF feed delivering the applied RF power to the facility plate.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the applied RF power is delivered over a tubular section of the hollow RF feed including the second end and a bowl-shaped section of the hollow RF feed including the first end.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising delivering current over facility wires in a bundled configuration in the tubular section and in an expanded configuration in the bowl-shaped section
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the delivery of the RF power by the hollow RF feed bypasses a central portion of the facility plate having a conducting component coupled thereto, the conducting component defined within an interior of the hollow RF feed.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the conducting component is one of a heating device, an electrostatic clamping device, a coolant fitting, or a pin lifter.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein applying the RF power to the second end of the hollow RF feed includes contacting the second end at a location lateral to the chuck assembly.
 16. The method of claim 10, further comprising shielding a first portion of the hollow RF feed from a second portion of the hollow RF feed by a grounded shield, the first portion including the first end of the hollow RF feed and the second portion including the second end of the hollow RF feed.
 17. The method of claim 10, further comprising insulating an interior surface of a portion of the hollow RF feed.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein contacting the first end of the hollow RF feed to the periphery of the facility plate includes contacting the periphery at a circumference defined on an underside of the facility plate, the circumference having a radius greater than one-half of a radius of the facility plate. 